Dubai’s Department of Economy and Tourism (DET) and Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA) have signed an MoU. The aim is to provide unified city-wide services for the virtual assets (VA) sector.
The MoU establishes a collaborative framework for effective VA market assurance across Dubai and encompasses:
Public/marketplace: Customer support and grievances
Business: On-site checks and enforcement
Business: Registration and licensing for VASP (Virtual Asset Service Providers)
Government-to-Government (G2G), Government-to-Business (G2B), and Government-to-Citizen (G2C): Education, training, and knowledge exchange
DET and VARA will deploy comprehensive processes to ensure top-tier consumer protection and security standards throughout the mainland and free zones, as the VA ecosystem transitions under VARA’s regulatory oversight, according to Gulf Business.
The MoU underscores VARA’s commitment to ensuring transparency and adherence to market conduct among licensed virtual asset service providers in Dubai. This strengthens the UAE’s reputation as a global hub in the sector.
VASPs will benefit from streamlined processes, with DET integrating VARA activities into its virtual asset license issuance system. DET will conduct rigorous inspections and assist VARA with on-site enforcement, including penalties for negligence or non-compliance with VARA rules. VARA’s inclusion in DET’s E-Permit system will facilitate streamlined approvals for VA events.
Both parties will cooperate on awareness campaigns, product updates, licensing, data-sharing protocols, and onboarding.The partnership seeks to strengthen the Dubai Corporation for Consumers Protection & Fair Trade (DCCPFT) department with specialized VA expertise from VARA. This will result in a transparent customer experience.
The collaboration will also focus on marketing campaigns to raise awareness about consumer protection and developments in the virtual assets sector. DET, in coordination with VARA, will publish relevant notices, penalty information, and consumer protection advisories on their websites.
